Excrement occurs.
Jake, our grandcat had emergency surgery 11 days ago. Some have asked... Jake is on the mend. His first follow-up to the vet led to warm compresses on his belly and extended time wearing his cone.
His latest vet visit was mid-week. He is eating; the incision is healing nicely. The last hurdle was having a bowel movement. That's what prompted this last visit. If you are squeamish, this would be a good time to click off.
OK, you're in this. The vet could feel his belly and tell that he was "near" having a bowel movement. I was not familiar with the procedure that happened next - well, not with a furry feline family member. The vet tech took Jake into the next room to give him an enema.
No cat we've ever been associated with has been very happy with getting their temperature taken... can't imagine trying to give a cat an enema. And, may I remind you that Jake is a big fella and "spirited." I would want metal-chain gauntlet gloves and a suit of armor if I were going to attempt to stick anything up his... well, you know.
Apparently, there was some "Reowwww"ing... and some, um... relief. Jake was good to go.
As they were getting ready to leave, Jake did go... again. In the new carrier. On Steph's hand. Pretty sure it would be another definition of "shit storm."
On the bright side, Jake no longer has to wear the cone. He is getting back to his former self.
Thanks for asking about him.
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Testicles, optic nerves, and a transformer...
The theme for a new movie? No.
It was a lovely start to the day...
Pretty light first thing in the morning.
After our usual morning routine, I settled in for some practice with a guitar. Joan asked, "Did you look carefully in all the drawers for a wall wart thingy that will fit?"
I could say, "Yes," but... I am a guy. Even if I look carefully, I miss things. It is not lack of effort, it is simple physiology. Men and women are designed differently. Not just the obvious fun parts. We are wired differently. I linked to a post on Facebook that talked about how men have "little boxes for all the things in their memory, but the favorite box is our 'Nothing' box." We really can think about "nothing." Happily.
Another way the sexes are wired different is in the optical nerve: men have a direct wire that runs through their testicles, wraps around the optic nerve, then goes to the brain. Because of the weight of the testicles pulling on that nerve, we can sometimes look at "something" and see "nothing."
A couple examples: a woman will ask, "Did you see her shoes?" Unless they are six inch stilettos several feet below a short skirt... we did not see shoes. We may have been aware that there were feet and there may have been something on those feet... but, the appearance of the shoes did not make it past the optical nerve and into the brain.
If we are looking for something in a drawer, unless there is a large red arrow pointing to the item, those pesky testicles blank out our ability to see the item. Oh, we might say, "There's the pocket knife I was looking for last month!" Yes, the same pocket knife that would couldn't find last month. Testicles to optic nerve - not our fault.
So, you don't have to be Columbo to figure out where this is going.
Amongst the several dozen wall wart transformers, we have one that is multi-functional. It can be switched to different voltage and there are several plug/connectors that attach to it. I found the connectors yesterday - damn testicles completely blanked out the sizeable transformer. Physiology. Can't be helped. Those who were born without testicles cannot, or will not, understand this.
But, I digress. Joan found the transformer. Paraded it around my guitar room... demonstrated how you can switch between the different voltages... showed me the variety of connectors. My gaze lowered... not out of shame. No, I looked down at the boys and said, "Not your fault. It's the way we're wired." My testicles nodded in agreement. Again, if you have no testicles, you may think I am making all this up. Au contrare.
Digressing again.
With the proper transformer, I hooked up the looper...
It's the little footswitch on the left. The other one is my vocal harmonizer. The description of the looper in the sales piece said, "Simple to operate." One footswitch; one knob for relative volume. That one footswitch has to work for: record, play, over-dub, play some more, stop, erase. Just depends on: tap... tap again... two quick taps... two taps and hold. There is a learning curve; not one of those "pull it out of the box and you're ready to use it in public" kinda things.
Timing counts.
I did lay down a rhythm verse of chords so I could play lead over the top of that. Pretty cool. And did I mention: I didn't even have to go out and buy a transformer?!
;-)
It was a lovely start to the day...
Pretty light first thing in the morning.
After our usual morning routine, I settled in for some practice with a guitar. Joan asked, "Did you look carefully in all the drawers for a wall wart thingy that will fit?"
I could say, "Yes," but... I am a guy. Even if I look carefully, I miss things. It is not lack of effort, it is simple physiology. Men and women are designed differently. Not just the obvious fun parts. We are wired differently. I linked to a post on Facebook that talked about how men have "little boxes for all the things in their memory, but the favorite box is our 'Nothing' box." We really can think about "nothing." Happily.
Another way the sexes are wired different is in the optical nerve: men have a direct wire that runs through their testicles, wraps around the optic nerve, then goes to the brain. Because of the weight of the testicles pulling on that nerve, we can sometimes look at "something" and see "nothing."
A couple examples: a woman will ask, "Did you see her shoes?" Unless they are six inch stilettos several feet below a short skirt... we did not see shoes. We may have been aware that there were feet and there may have been something on those feet... but, the appearance of the shoes did not make it past the optical nerve and into the brain.
If we are looking for something in a drawer, unless there is a large red arrow pointing to the item, those pesky testicles blank out our ability to see the item. Oh, we might say, "There's the pocket knife I was looking for last month!" Yes, the same pocket knife that would couldn't find last month. Testicles to optic nerve - not our fault.
So, you don't have to be Columbo to figure out where this is going.
Amongst the several dozen wall wart transformers, we have one that is multi-functional. It can be switched to different voltage and there are several plug/connectors that attach to it. I found the connectors yesterday - damn testicles completely blanked out the sizeable transformer. Physiology. Can't be helped. Those who were born without testicles cannot, or will not, understand this.
But, I digress. Joan found the transformer. Paraded it around my guitar room... demonstrated how you can switch between the different voltages... showed me the variety of connectors. My gaze lowered... not out of shame. No, I looked down at the boys and said, "Not your fault. It's the way we're wired." My testicles nodded in agreement. Again, if you have no testicles, you may think I am making all this up. Au contrare.
Digressing again.
With the proper transformer, I hooked up the looper...
It's the little footswitch on the left. The other one is my vocal harmonizer. The description of the looper in the sales piece said, "Simple to operate." One footswitch; one knob for relative volume. That one footswitch has to work for: record, play, over-dub, play some more, stop, erase. Just depends on: tap... tap again... two quick taps... two taps and hold. There is a learning curve; not one of those "pull it out of the box and you're ready to use it in public" kinda things.
Timing counts.
I did lay down a rhythm verse of chords so I could play lead over the top of that. Pretty cool. And did I mention: I didn't even have to go out and buy a transformer?!
;-)
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Warts and all...
We've all heard that saying. You take the good with the bad. I had no idea how many warts I have until today.
Nothing to do with a dermatologist.
Joan ordered a looper for my guitar. For my boating friends, this looper has nothing to do with taking your boat around the Great Loop (people who do that call themselves "loopers").
This looper is an electronic pedal that records what you play when you press a footswitch. Press the footswitch again, and it plays what you just recorded. The idea behind it is: you can lay down a rhythm guitar "loop," then play a lead over the top of that recording when it is played back. It will make the playing sound full.
When we ordered the looper, we saw that it does not come with the cable necessary to plug it in; doesn't run on batteries, either. Ohhhhh... so that is the "wart" you are talking about: the cord that goes from every electronic gizmo you have ever bought that plugs into a wall socket... they generally have a "wart" (black hunk on the cord) that converts the ac power to the proper DC current necessary to power the device.
Joan looked - yes, we have a wall wart that is 9 volt.
The looper came in today. Looks nicely made. I was anxious to plug it in and try it out. The 9v wall wart we have has the type of connection, but the connector is too small. Yep - won't fit. That started "the quest": the search and ID for every wall wart we have.
Have you ever looked at your assortment of wall warts? We found other 9v warts with the wrong kind of connector. Plenty of 12v warts... with the wrong kind of connector. A few 6v and 5.8v wall warts... with the wrong kind of connector. A 24v wall wart with the right connector. Then, a couple 12v warts with the right kind of connector. But, NO wall wart that was 9v with the right size connector. Warts for phones. Warts for hand-held radios. Warts for portable stereos. A wart for a Sony Watchman TV (that doesn't receive digital signals). Warts for hair clippers. Warts for specialized printers. We have warts for stuff that we no longer have the stuff! There had to be 25 warts that we came across in the quest. And, not a one of them will find this nifty looper.
I gave up the search 40 minutes ago; the Blonde is still on the hunt. She found a few more warts that we can't identify what they go to. Like old photographs (of people you don't even know), it is hard to throw them out.
Tomorrow, I will head to the store that used to be our local Radio Shack, and actually pay good money for another wart. Yes, we could have bought one with the looper.
It is like Christmas morning when you were a kid, and the box says, "Batteries not included"... and no one thought to buy batteries. ;-)
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Scooting and boating...
Sounds like a good way to spend a day.
The weather weasels were calling for spotty showers today. Didn't happen. Glad it didn't happen. It was just cool enough to need a light jacket when out on the scooters; nice riding.
It turned out to be a wildlife trip on the scoots; more on that later. We needed to top off fuel before leaving town...
Joan topped 100 mpg, as usual: 103. I came in at 98 mpg.
I have often referred to Port Isabel as an "end of the road" town. That isn't meant to be derogatory. While the road does cross the causeway, there is only one way out of town to the mainland. One road in, same way out. Flat terrain, and you have to ride a ways to find some new roads to run. Heading north off Highway 100...
Yes, that is a "Do Not Pick Up HitchHikers" sign... off this road is a detention center. If you came into the country illegally, you may wind up here before getting sent back.
Off that road, we took another road west, avoiding the rough surface we rode last time in this area...
Yes, those are sunflowers on the right side of the road on the bottom photo above.
What is this on the road??
That was the end of it - yep, snake! It was pretty large - Joan was guessing it at 10 feet, I'm thinking more like 7 or 8. Still, laying in the road, it looked like a palm branch. It had the coloring of a Texas bull snake, but the tail doesn't look right. 50 bonus points to the first person to ID it.
I think it was the philospher Yogi Berra who said, "When you come to a fork in the road, take it." This didn't look promising...
The paved road ended, and it was muddy both ways... we went to Plan C: turn around and stay out of the mud. We have had more rain that ususal here since we've been back. Plenty of standing water...
Grapefruit trees. Just wandering on back roads, we came to some large homes, behind gates like these...
Out in what I would definitely call "the boonies."
Then, the second wildlife encounter - I wasn't quick enough to get a photo... a large turkey vulture missed Joan's head by about 3 feet. By large, I mean these things have a wingspan of about 6 feet. I am wondering if Joan's black helmet looked like a turtle. Which brings me to the next almost-got-it shot...
See those concrete fingers in the water? About 15 seconds before I took this photo, there were a half dozen turtles sunning on those. If anyone things turtles move slow, you should try to stop a scooter and get a photo of them. ;-)
While the roads aren't twisty and thrilling, the views are interesting. We made our way back to Port Isabel, stopping for "a Texas stop sign"... also known as Dairy Queen. I have heard that there are more DQs in Texas than any other state; I can't vouch for the validity of that statement, but I'm going with it.
Heading for home, with the Laguna Madre ahead...
After putting the scooters away, I checked my phone - a missed call. From my buddy, Herb. He was bringing a boat from storage to his dock, "Do you want to come along." Yeah, I missed it. When I called Herb he said, "I was thinking about taking it for fuel."
"I'll be there in a few minutes."
We pushed off from the dock behind their house and went down the canal, under the Highway 100 bridge, past the old shrimp basin, and headed for the fuel dock...
It was getting close to sunset - we took the open water way home: under the swing bridge, into the Laguna, under the causeway, and around to Herb's place in the Fingers...
A guy's boat outing. "Missed this?" Herb asked.
"Between the paddleboard and the kayak, I'm doing OK for water time. Not 'jonesing' for another boat just yet."
Back at Herb's, we put the boat in the sling in his boathouse, then went inside for some catching up.
Land and sea, time with my Honey and my buddy (no, they aren't the same)... not a bad way to spend the day.
The weather weasels were calling for spotty showers today. Didn't happen. Glad it didn't happen. It was just cool enough to need a light jacket when out on the scooters; nice riding.
It turned out to be a wildlife trip on the scoots; more on that later. We needed to top off fuel before leaving town...
Joan topped 100 mpg, as usual: 103. I came in at 98 mpg.
I have often referred to Port Isabel as an "end of the road" town. That isn't meant to be derogatory. While the road does cross the causeway, there is only one way out of town to the mainland. One road in, same way out. Flat terrain, and you have to ride a ways to find some new roads to run. Heading north off Highway 100...
Yes, that is a "Do Not Pick Up HitchHikers" sign... off this road is a detention center. If you came into the country illegally, you may wind up here before getting sent back.
Off that road, we took another road west, avoiding the rough surface we rode last time in this area...
Yes, those are sunflowers on the right side of the road on the bottom photo above.
What is this on the road??
That was the end of it - yep, snake! It was pretty large - Joan was guessing it at 10 feet, I'm thinking more like 7 or 8. Still, laying in the road, it looked like a palm branch. It had the coloring of a Texas bull snake, but the tail doesn't look right. 50 bonus points to the first person to ID it.
I think it was the philospher Yogi Berra who said, "When you come to a fork in the road, take it." This didn't look promising...
The paved road ended, and it was muddy both ways... we went to Plan C: turn around and stay out of the mud. We have had more rain that ususal here since we've been back. Plenty of standing water...
Grapefruit trees. Just wandering on back roads, we came to some large homes, behind gates like these...
Out in what I would definitely call "the boonies."
Then, the second wildlife encounter - I wasn't quick enough to get a photo... a large turkey vulture missed Joan's head by about 3 feet. By large, I mean these things have a wingspan of about 6 feet. I am wondering if Joan's black helmet looked like a turtle. Which brings me to the next almost-got-it shot...
See those concrete fingers in the water? About 15 seconds before I took this photo, there were a half dozen turtles sunning on those. If anyone things turtles move slow, you should try to stop a scooter and get a photo of them. ;-)
While the roads aren't twisty and thrilling, the views are interesting. We made our way back to Port Isabel, stopping for "a Texas stop sign"... also known as Dairy Queen. I have heard that there are more DQs in Texas than any other state; I can't vouch for the validity of that statement, but I'm going with it.
Heading for home, with the Laguna Madre ahead...
After putting the scooters away, I checked my phone - a missed call. From my buddy, Herb. He was bringing a boat from storage to his dock, "Do you want to come along." Yeah, I missed it. When I called Herb he said, "I was thinking about taking it for fuel."
"I'll be there in a few minutes."
We pushed off from the dock behind their house and went down the canal, under the Highway 100 bridge, past the old shrimp basin, and headed for the fuel dock...
It was getting close to sunset - we took the open water way home: under the swing bridge, into the Laguna, under the causeway, and around to Herb's place in the Fingers...
A guy's boat outing. "Missed this?" Herb asked.
"Between the paddleboard and the kayak, I'm doing OK for water time. Not 'jonesing' for another boat just yet."
Back at Herb's, we put the boat in the sling in his boathouse, then went inside for some catching up.
Land and sea, time with my Honey and my buddy (no, they aren't the same)... not a bad way to spend the day.
Monday, December 8, 2014
Rainy days and Mondays...
Don't bother me a bit.
Yeah, it is kinda drizzly today, but we don't have to be out in it. On days like this, where the scootering or paddling would be less than fun, we do what the tough do: we get going... as in: out to lunch. Good day for a road trip.
OK, Brownsville isn't like a major road trip - about a half hour away. But, they do have Tony Roma's... and Tony has good ribs. We had some other minor shopping to do, since our small town doesn't have Target or Staples.
With only 16 shopping days 'till Christmas, I expected the stores, restaurants, and roads to be packed. They weren't. It was pleasantly not busy everywhere we went. Probably not what the store managers are hoping for, but sure makes getting around easier.
And diesel for almost 20¢ per gallon less than our local area. That is almost like getting a Christmas present! Early.
Not sure if Santa's sleigh has a diesel-assist motor or not. If so, he can afford to give away more stuff. And I have been really good this year. Really.
Saturday, December 6, 2014
From the other side...
No, this is not about the supernatural.
The Lighted Boat Parade was this evening. We wondered how the turn out would be... the weather was gorgeous, but the participation of boats in the annual parade has declined the past few years. Last year, the parade was canceled, due to bad weather. The publicity from the Chamber of Commerce was messed up - one publication had last year's announcement that the parade was canceled. The website had last year's starting/judging point - which was a major difference from this year.
For the last 10 years or so, when we have been here during the parade, we have had a boat in it. We have seen the weather be cooperative and we have seen it downright ugly - trying to keep lights in place, and lit, when the wind was howling. Fog. Cold. Hot and humid. The perspective is very different from the shore. I always enjoyed doing a pirouette in front of the judging stands, some Jimmy Buffett Christmas music playing, then traveling along the route, honking and waving. Sometimes we could get close enough to the crowd to toss some candy. This evening, we were in the crowd... on shore... watching.
We took one scooter to the swing bridge, knowing that the boats would have to go in and out through there for the judging, then on to the rest of the parade route. No idea how many boats there would be. As we pulled up to the bridge, I was surprised to see that there were only a few cars and maybe 20 people. A couple of commercial boats waiting for the bridge to open...
There were cars waiting to get across the bridge from both directions - the bridge swung shut, allowing the car traffic to clear.
The judging was happening a half mile or so from where we were - a straight shot, so we could see the boats... not a lot of them. One of the first commercial boats being judged set off fireworks from their boat...
Another small private boat came up to the swing bridge, caught on the wrong side of it...
Looking back that way, we could see a light fog developing on the water by the causeway and South Padre Island (where the parade will end). And, the full moon coming up over the island...
The bridge swung open, and the boats that had been judged were heading out. The little one caught on the other side didn't seem to be in a big hurry to get to the judging. He had better hurry - it looks like there are only about 10 boats in the parade and they are all heading away from the judging area... he may be a little late to the parade. Literally.
I didn't bring a tripod, the shaky images bear that out. Still, it was fun. A small group that was on the swing bridge, trying to get a close view...
And, some more shaky lighted photo images...
And that was it. A little anti-climatic, but still fun. As we walked back to the scooter, we came across Scarlet, the lady who operates the Sea Life Center and Fins to Feathers (dolphin and bird watch boats). She asked about our time in the Pacific Northwest... and said, "I haven't seen you out there in your boat this year."
Yeah, we visited for a while. We may have to go out on her boat - she knows the local dolphin groups.
Back to the parade... I think I like the views from within better. ;-)
The Lighted Boat Parade was this evening. We wondered how the turn out would be... the weather was gorgeous, but the participation of boats in the annual parade has declined the past few years. Last year, the parade was canceled, due to bad weather. The publicity from the Chamber of Commerce was messed up - one publication had last year's announcement that the parade was canceled. The website had last year's starting/judging point - which was a major difference from this year.
For the last 10 years or so, when we have been here during the parade, we have had a boat in it. We have seen the weather be cooperative and we have seen it downright ugly - trying to keep lights in place, and lit, when the wind was howling. Fog. Cold. Hot and humid. The perspective is very different from the shore. I always enjoyed doing a pirouette in front of the judging stands, some Jimmy Buffett Christmas music playing, then traveling along the route, honking and waving. Sometimes we could get close enough to the crowd to toss some candy. This evening, we were in the crowd... on shore... watching.
We took one scooter to the swing bridge, knowing that the boats would have to go in and out through there for the judging, then on to the rest of the parade route. No idea how many boats there would be. As we pulled up to the bridge, I was surprised to see that there were only a few cars and maybe 20 people. A couple of commercial boats waiting for the bridge to open...
There were cars waiting to get across the bridge from both directions - the bridge swung shut, allowing the car traffic to clear.
The judging was happening a half mile or so from where we were - a straight shot, so we could see the boats... not a lot of them. One of the first commercial boats being judged set off fireworks from their boat...
Another small private boat came up to the swing bridge, caught on the wrong side of it...
Looking back that way, we could see a light fog developing on the water by the causeway and South Padre Island (where the parade will end). And, the full moon coming up over the island...
The bridge swung open, and the boats that had been judged were heading out. The little one caught on the other side didn't seem to be in a big hurry to get to the judging. He had better hurry - it looks like there are only about 10 boats in the parade and they are all heading away from the judging area... he may be a little late to the parade. Literally.
I didn't bring a tripod, the shaky images bear that out. Still, it was fun. A small group that was on the swing bridge, trying to get a close view...
And, some more shaky lighted photo images...
And that was it. A little anti-climatic, but still fun. As we walked back to the scooter, we came across Scarlet, the lady who operates the Sea Life Center and Fins to Feathers (dolphin and bird watch boats). She asked about our time in the Pacific Northwest... and said, "I haven't seen you out there in your boat this year."
Yeah, we visited for a while. We may have to go out on her boat - she knows the local dolphin groups.
Back to the parade... I think I like the views from within better. ;-)
Friday, December 5, 2014
It's broke...
No, not the new fridge - it seems to be doing fine.
We had a receipt from Wally-World that told us the time we could pick up our prints. I'm no newbie around here - we gave 'em a couple extra hours. After waiting at the photo counter for someone from the store to show up... SOP... the photo department guy said, "The photo machine is broke."
"Broke?"
"Yeah, the paper is jammed in there. We called the technician guy yesterday, but he never showed up. We don't know when he's coming."
"So, all the people who were given a time to come back to pick up their photos yesterday and today - did you think of giving them a call?"
"Huh? No, we don't know when it will be fixed."
He didn't get it. The whole idea that they are wasting people's time never occurred to him. You're right, I'm not on a schedule... doesn't mean my time has no value.
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